104: [Coaching] The Key Question to Ask Yourself to Find Your Core Message with Nettye Johnson

You may have a twinkling of an idea for your topic for your signature talk, keynote, or TEDx talk, but perhaps you’re not sure where to go from there.

How can you take your idea, expand upon it, and make it your own?

In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear the key questions I ask my clients to help find their core message, including the one question that tends to be the most useful.

My guest, Nettye Johnson, a certified health educator and coach, sent me a lovely email after I posted in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group asking for on-air coaching call guests. (A great reason to join the group and check in every few days! Not a member? It’s free. Go to https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join or text SPEAKING to 444-999.)

She wrote to me: “The idea I want to share goes against the popular position that we are all the same, and should be considered and treated equally. When we try not to see differences in people we actually hinder progress because differences beg for understanding and equitable action - not equal action.

“The root of this is a short 5-minute talk I did shortly after the Alton Sterling killing in my town 2 years ago. I was at a speaker training session about to have my prepared talk on faith-based fitness (my professional niche) coached in a small group. My heart was so heavy, that morning I went with my heart and instead spoke on race relations to a group of white women - trying to get us all to see the different people and perspectives of this divisive issue, and how leaning into differences can help. A video of it is at

https://youtu.be/C-HGr8UDvWs.”

I watched the video and was impressed by Nettye’s passion, poise, presence, and empathy, so I invited her to come on the podcast to talk about this idea of “the value of labels” or “one size doesn’t and can’t fit all” and how that can be turned into a signature talk or TEDx talk.

In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear the questions I ask and how, through digging deeper and reflecting back, we get to the root of her idea - and from there the seed of the talk can grow.

You’ll also hear the key question I ask my clients to help get to the root of their core message, which I encourage you to ask yourself and journal about or, even better, talk to someone about There’s tremendous value in hearing your ideas spoken out loud, which is why coaching can be so powerful.

Need a coach to help you make your idea your own and turn it into a signature talk, keynote, or TEDx talk? That’s what we love to do!

Review our coaching packages and schedule a consultation call with us at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.

About My Guest: Nettye Johnson is a wife, mom, author, speaker, trainer, certified health educator and health coach. Wholeheartedly believing apart from God we can do nothing, Nettye combined health education and coaching knowledge with 25 years of Christian education study and experience and founded Nettye Johnson Faith and Fitness Services LLC, (NJFFS), that provides curated holistic solutions that help women find balance and live well.

Nettye began her career in technology as a software engineer for Eastman Kodak. Career changes to IT Training for Jacobs Engineering and Corporate Training for Weight Watchers International, shifted her focus from programs to people, and helped Nettye find her voice and passion in speaking and teaching. During her decade tenure with the nation’s leading weight loss company, Nettye’s work in training, business development, and operations management on local, state and national levels impacted thousands. In this work, she was struck by the decline of health, wellness, and wholeness in our nation, moved by African-American health disparities and focused to develop and deliver holistic education, resources and support to effectively address this problem.

About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs and workshops at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/104

Visit Nettye Johnson’s website at http://nettyejohnson.com/.

Join the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/ or text the word SPEAKING to 444-999.

Sign up for a Strategy Session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy.

Ready to create your signature talk and framework? Email me at carol@speakingyourbrand.com or click here to schedule a call.

Say hi to me on Instagram and Twitter: @CarolMorganCox.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts and leave a review!

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 55: Should You Give an Instructional or an Inspirational Talk
• Episode 80: [Coaching] Connecting Your Why with What Makes Your Approach Unique with Anne Torrez
• Episode 95: Finding Your Idea Worth Sharing with Lori DiGuardi
• Episode 98: [Coaching] Expanding Your Personal Story into a Universal Message with Nicole Rochester, M.D.

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at